Just as a company's fiscal year can run on whatever arbitrary 12-month cycle they deem appropriate to their line of business, many hot rod shops also do not follow the traditional Gregorian calendar as the rest of us. Instead, they tend to run their high-level projects on their own time line that concludes somewhere around the SEMA Show. Sometimes the night before. That means they'll typically turn their attention to the next big project right after they touch down back at the shop. That's why as soon as the dust settled after SEMA, we immediately started touching base with major shops all around the country to find out what they had brewing for their top projects in 2013.

While we found plenty of the usually suspect car models like Camaros and Mustangs, we were pleasantly surprised to see some off-the-radar unique platforms slated for high-end builds. How does a '71 Pantera, '57 Saratoga, '70 240Z, or a '72 Gremlin sound to you? Sounds like the kind of creativity we live for!

Unfortunately another theme we run across perennially is shady shops delivering shoddy workmanship while billing top dollar. There are plenty of shops that want your money and will make all the promises under the sun to get it, so it's more important than ever to do your homework before entrusting a shop with your car. If you're on the hunt for a good shop for your next project, any one of these shops is a safe bet. There's a reason that these guys have been doing this for a long time, and it's because they're at the top of their game. Of course you can always dispense with the trouble of paying a shop altogether by just building it yourself, and you'll have a head start on your own creation by mining ideas from these cutting-edge pro projects already underway!

1969 Corvette
Alloway's Hot Rod Shop

Think back to your high school days; there was always that one dude who had the hottest car in the parking lot that every other guy drooled over and dreamed about. Maybe you were lucky enough to be that guy, but most us just had to live with our envy. For Doyle Thomas, the car belonged to a friend of his: a triple-black '69 Corvette convertible. And you know how they always say a hot car can get you hot girls? Apparently that Vette was the last bit of persuasion Thomas' friend needed to get a date with one of the best looking girls at school that he'd been pursuing. Yeah, Thomas was in love with that Vette and swore that he would have one just like it one day.

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Apparently that impression ruined him for life; Thomas currently has 14 Corvettes in his fleet, but until recently there was a glaring gap in the roll call. Finally, about three years back Thomas decided it was time to build that first love. Like most Corvette guys, Thomas had been much into factory-correct restos, but after seeing the '62 Corvette Bobby Alloway built a couple of years back, his mind was switched. That car set the Vette world on notice by basically being a perfected vision of a stock-style Corvette on the outside, but with a modern chassis, suspension, and drivetrain. Thomas had never seen a third-gen Vette taken to that level, so he decided his first dream car would be the one to set the bar.

The cool thing about third-gen Corvettes is that they are still relatively inexpensive in small-block form, plus they represented cutting-edge styling and performance for their day. C3 Vette street machines are a growing trend, and fortunately the prices on decent starter cars are still on the ground floor. Thomas' '69, however, will be putting them in the spotlight very soon!

Back in 1967 while he was in college, Ray Norlin walked into a Chevy dealership and laid eyes on the very first Z/28 Camaro he'd ever seen. His jaw dropped, he turned to a salesman, and asked, "What's that?" The salesman replied, "That's Chevy's new hot rod." Indeed it was, and Ray knew he had to have one. Not that day though—college came first. Matter of fact, a lot of things came first: career, marriage, kids, and all those other important parts of life. Though he had a few Camaros in the meantime, it wasn't until 28 years later that Ray got the first-gen he really wanted. Rather than a '67, he went for a '69, since the revised body lines had replaced the '67's in his mind.

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Originally he wasn't quite sure what direction to take with it. Ray had always been a drag racing fan, but after he saw some friends autocrossing, that looked like the fun he wanted. Of course to be even remotely competitive, he needed to upgrade the drivetrain and suspension. "I'm not a serious racer," Ray says, "but I don't want to come in last either." In a perfect world, he would have loved to build the car himself, but life was still too busy. "I realized if I ever wanted to finish and enjoy this car, I needed some help." Randy Johnson at D&Z Customs has a reputation of building no-nonsense Pro Touring cars that handle; he's a hard-core track rat, and has spent just as much time on the high speed turns of a road course as he has behind a welder. That's why Ray chose him to be his guiding hand in transforming the '69 into a Pro Touring car, which includes a slew of Anvil Auto's carbon-fiber body parts, some Cerullo seats, a Detroit Speed & Engineering dash insert, Auto Meter gauges, Phantom Works Touch-N-Go system, a Vintage Air Gen IV Magnum A/C system, an ididit tilt steering column, and a RideTech TigerCage.

There are a lot of black first-gen Camaros that have been in film and television over the decades, but for a certain generation there is one that always comes to mind: The one that lived under a cover in John Cusack's driveway for most of the 1985 movie Better Off Dead. When the cover is finally yanked and a pristine black '67 Camaro is revealed, it was the inspiration for a whole new generation of would-be gearheads. That image stuck with a lot of kids—one of which was Angelo Vespi. He knew right then that one day he was going to have one.

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Years later when he finally had a '69 Camaro ready to build, he hoped to send it to Detroit Speed & Engineering. Unfortunately, at the time DSE was backlogged with demand and the wait time for a project like Angelo's was roughly two years. Instead, Angelo decided to buy all of the parts from DSE, but work with a local shop to get the car built. Two years into the project, however, progress was inexcusable slow. As luck would have it, right about that time DSE had some openings, so Angelo had the Camaro shipped to them right away. But, that's when the real bad news started rolling in. Turns out that the Camaro was extremely rough with lots of rust and body damage masked by really bad metalwork. It was way too much to fix, so the body was sold to a racer and a different shell was procured.

Since he had to wait so long, Angelo decided to go all-out; he and DSE collaborated with artists Carter Hickman and Eric Brockmeyer to create what they hope will be a serious contender for the 2013 Goodguys Street Machine of the Year award. We're digging the handbuilt hood, lower valence, cowl, tucked bumpers, and functional quarter-panel gills. After that, Angelo plans to attend a driving school to better learn how to wring it out on the autocross track.

There aren't many people who would ponder a pre-'64 Mopar when choosing a car for a high-end Pro Touring hot rod, but for Steve Southwell, those flamboyant '50s Mopars are the Mopars. It all started back when he was 14 and had a paper route. Of all the cars sitting in driveways, it was always the Mopars of that Virgil Exner "Forward Look" era that got him excited.

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Initially for this project Southwell wanted a '50s Chrysler 300, but the market on those is fairly pricey even for project cars. "I really wanted to do a great big '50s boat," Southwell says, "but as a restomod underneath."

While on his search, he ran across two Mopars up for sale as a package: a '57 New Yorker and a '57 Saratoga. The owner had planned to combine the two cars into one good restoration, but both cars ended up being far too rough. That wasn't a problem for Southwell, since prodigious cutting and custom parts were part of his plan. That's good, because after dipping the cars there wasn't much left of either of them. The New Yorker was far worse, so the Saratoga got the nod for the build.

While the Saratoga is eventually going to benefit from a custom unibody chassis and performance suspension designed and built by Hot Rod Chassis & Cycle (HRC&C), the style of the Saratoga will stay very traditional, since Southwell loves attending shows that only allow pre-'64 hot rods and customs. Just like traditional customizers, HRC&C plans to incorporate a lot of Chrysler elements from different models such as pivoting seats from a '60 Adventurer, some cross-ram induction pieces, and an original push-button shifter connected to a modern trans.

The hot rod and muscle car hobby is a hard one to resist, especially if you find yourself immersed in it and hanging out with some of the big names in the industry and their test cars. Businessman Dave Rybacki ventured into the restoration market with his last company, and quickly got absorbed in the world of modernized and Pro Touring muscle cars at Goodguys shows around the country. He quickly made friends with the owners of some of the big shops and parts manufacturers, and got to ride along in some of their test cars on the autocross course. That's all it took to fully convert him. It was time for him to build a car of his own.

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Though he previously had an off-road Jeep, Dave had never owned a muscle car of any type before. The car that really struck him was Detroit Speed & Engineering's Chevy II test car, so he decided to seek one out one for himself. The search eventually led him to a barn in Southern Illinois and a rickety '66 Nova with no floors and shoddily tacked together conduit holding it together. From there it went straight to Nostalgic Auto Body in Island Lake, Illinois, where fabricator Joe Miller is doing all of the metalwork on the car, and will also probably end up painting the car as well. Currently, the Chevy II is at Schwartz Performance getting its new chassis installed, as well as a custom exhaust and a rollcage.

"This breaks all of our building rules here. We just don't do Japanese cars," Brent Jarvis said about this 240Z going together at Performance Restorations. "But when one of your best friends asks you, you say ‘yes,' and give it the best you have. So this is a first for our shop and it should turn out to be quite a cool, fun, fast car when done." Brent's friend, Jim Campagna, has had the Z since he was a young man, but once he got married and had kids, it was put into storage. The plan was to eventually bring it back as a father-son project, but unfortunately the gearhead gene skipped a generation and his son doesn't have the same interest in cars that dad does. So now that the kids are away in school, dad is doing it for himself.

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While it may not be his usual cup of tea, it's not too hard to like the formula: a pocket-sized 2,400-pound car with a great chassis and suspension. Toss in a reliable 500hp LS engine underhood, and you've got a recipe for some really fun, fast handling track action. You didn't think Brent would keep the original six in it, did you? The aluminum LS engine is actually lighter than the old iron straight-six.

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Styling wise, the Z is being accented with vintage flares, front air dam, headlamp covers, and rear wing to give it a classic road race look. The flares will be molded in rather than bolted on as they were 40 years ago. Campagna is a very experienced race driver, so the Z will be giving muscle cars fits on the autocross, the road course, and speed-stop challenges.

One of Steve Strope's favorite design directions is to cross elements from different vehicles of the same era, and just by looking at the Tavis Highlander illustration, Ford nuts probably already see the vintage GT40 design cues. But for those of you who need a little refresher course in GT40, here is the basic rundown.

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While GT40s ran small-blocks and 427 FEs, Strope opted for Jon Kaase Racing's new 520ci all-aluminum Boss '9 with their new eight-stack EFI injection. The idea behind the Kaase Boss '9 is that it resembles the Ford big-block racing engines of the 1960s while bringing more power and driveability. It also reduces weight on the nose significantly. The future owner—who insists on his privacy—is a successful high-level businessman who is a part-time racer, so no ordinary transmission will do. Taking the grunt from Kaase's Boss will be Keisler Automotive's new dog box clutchless six-speed manual. Continuing with the vintage race theme, the stripe patterns are modeled after the original GT40's hood and rocker stripe package, like the Ford lettering in the rocker stripe just behind the door of the GT40. Recognize those wheels GT40 enthusiasts? Most GT40s ran Halibrand wheels, but Strope opted to work with EVOD Industries to recreate the Gulf Racing GT40's six-spoke wheels with three-blade spinners in an 18-inch diameter. And the color? Why Gurney Blue, of course.

This one is a real horror story, and proof that sometimes it's just best to go back to the original source when you want to emulate a high-end show car. Back in 1971 when the movie Vanishing Point debuted, Roger Byrd's father had a Challenger very similar to Kowalski's that the local drive-in theater borrowed to get moviegoers revved up. That mental pic of people crowding around his dad's car stuck with the younger Byrd. Years later when his chiropractic career was doing well and he was contemplating getting a Viper, that image of vintage Mopar muscle crept back in. Rather than a Challenger, though, Roger opted for a 'Cuda convertible.

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He took the rolling shell to a builder in Southern Florida with dreams of building a 'Cuda badder than Sick Fish, the '70 'Cuda built by Rad Rides for Joe Rogan. Well, unfortunately the only part they got right was "bad." The 'Cuda was originally slated to debut in Chrysler's booth at the 2007 SEMA show, but when Roger arrived he was told that it had been turned away since it was hastily thrown together and incomplete. Back to the shop it went. In 2009, it did make the SEMA show, but ran and drove so poorly that Roger only racked up 70 miles on it.

Thoroughly through with that shop, Roger contacted Troy Trepanier at Rad Rides to rescue the 'Cuda. Unfortunately what Troy found was a carved up car full of filler, a poorly designed and installed suspension, and an engine with washed cylinders. After stripping the paint, every single panel except one doorskin had to be replaced.

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Roger was so disgusted he didn't even bother to call Troy for a year, preferring just to let his crew work. Now eight years into a project that was supposed to only take two years, Roger is starting to get reenergized since the end is in sight. He should finally be driving "Whiplash" by this spring.

This one is kind of a sad story, but thanks to the Ringbrothers, Jim and Mike; it will have a happy ending. Randy Brickle had never had a hot rod project, but a friend of his had a Pantera, and apparently going for a few rides in it left quite an impression on him. That semi-exotic DeTomaso body became his dream car and he began looking around for one of his own.

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Unfortunately, Randy was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to work on his Pantera as planned. He sent it to a shop to have the work completed, and long story short, a great deal of money was spent with not much result. Even worse, Randy died during the process.

Looking for a trustworthy shop to finish the car, his wife, Cheryl, was referred to Ringbrothers by a friend. After picking the Pantera up and discovering the overall poor shape of the body and the shoddy workmanship, Mike and Jim initially tried to dissuade Cheryl from sinking more money into the car. That wasn't an option for Cheryl though; it had to be completed. She gave them a budget cap, and mandated that the finished color be yellow, but other than that Mike and Jim had free rein.

Since it was way too rough to go back stock, Mike and Jim created a plan that would create a gorgeous Pantera that will do justice to Randy's memory, while still being something that she will be able to sell later. This one isn't a keeper for her; it's just the fulfillment of her husband's dream.

For their perfected Pantera, Mike and Jim worked with the Roadster Shop to create a custom front and rear suspension for better handling, and are swapping to LS3 power. The body mods will be fairly subtle with small wheel flares and custom rocker panels with brake cooling ducts.

Putting together one high-end muscle car takes a monumental amount of time; putting together five at once is practically a full-time job. Kevin Garrison has found the answer, though: he set up a one-man fab and body shop and has an employee whose whole job is just to help Kevin get his projects completed. Man, do we love this idea.

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This '66 Chevy II didn't originally start with a plan, Kevin just happened to run across it as an unfinished basket case project for a great deal. He scooped it up, fully certain that he'd figure what to do with it soon. No doubt influenced by the sudden surge of Chevy II handling and performance parts that have become available on the market, he decided that the direction for this '66 would be full-on Pro Touring. He touched base with Route 66 Motorsports with a rough outline of what he wanted: a red Chevy II with 18-inch Boze Alloy Mesh wheels. Other than that and a few other minor points, Kevin let the Route 66 crew have free rein to create a head-turner. When we spoke to them in December, the fast-approaching deadline for the debut was the Indy World of Wheels show in February. After that, Kevin said he plans to attend several Goodguys shows. Hopefully, we'll convince him to stretch the '66 out a bit on the autocross at least once or twice.

There are few cars in the pantheon of automotive oddities that get as much ridicule as the Gremlin. Well, maybe the Pacer, but either way it's high on the list. Despite that, Jeff Schwartz and the guys at Schwartz Performance are bound and determined to make this one Gremlin that haunts the nightmares of autocrossers.

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"Why a Gremlin?" you might ask. We posed that question to owner Mark Ifen and he told us that he'd actually autocrossed one back in the early '80s and it handled surprisingly well thanks to a good weight bias because of the relatively long nose. Unfortunately, the strut rod–style front suspension meant that there really wasn't much he could do to tune it.

Years later in 2008, Mark decided he'd like to have another Gremmy, and ran across a clean one in South Carolina that was up for auction on eBay. Originally a yellow six-cylinder automatic base model with tan guts, somewhere along the line a mild 360ci Mopar V-8 had been swapped in. Mark figured it would make a fun cruiser, and perhaps a surprise for a few unsuspecting muscle cars.

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Nevertheless, Mark's buddy Jeff had other ideas when he saw the new acquisition. After the demise of Jeff's brown Vega, he really wanted something unique again. After taking a few measurements, Jeff confirmed that with a few mounting point mods and 4 inches taken out of the middle, one of his chassis for first-gen Camaros would fit. To get the right stance and grip, Jeff decided to channel the body down over the rails and raise the front wheelwells about 4 inches to clear at least 275-series tires.